Q: About investing in oil directly, here is some information members should know. Please correct me if I am wrong: Although Horizon ETF "HUC.TO" is less liquid than "USO", it has a an advantage over it in this environment: It holds the December contract, not the next 2 months contracts. In other words, USO bets on oil in the short term, and HUC.TO bets on oil in 7 months.
From Horizon: "HUC’s unique methodology is designed to provide the best possible exposure to the commodity. This is done by gaining exposure to the winter months (December) contract of each year, which is often the most liquid, to eliminate the monthly futures contract roll which often creates negative roll yield. Because the oil market is most typically in a state of contango (upward sloping curve), the process of providing investors exposure to the near- month contract 12 times per year creates a constantly changing underlying investment which can prevent the ETF from accurately tracking the commodity. HUC invests only in the December contract and executes its underlying exposure roll once per year, each June."
From Horizon: "HUC’s unique methodology is designed to provide the best possible exposure to the commodity. This is done by gaining exposure to the winter months (December) contract of each year, which is often the most liquid, to eliminate the monthly futures contract roll which often creates negative roll yield. Because the oil market is most typically in a state of contango (upward sloping curve), the process of providing investors exposure to the near- month contract 12 times per year creates a constantly changing underlying investment which can prevent the ETF from accurately tracking the commodity. HUC invests only in the December contract and executes its underlying exposure roll once per year, each June."